As far as anyone knows, Julia Manaster and Sarah Manaster Solomon never visited the Brandeis campus, yet the sisters from Chicago have had an extraordinary impact on the University’s students for three decades.

The Julia Manaster and Sarah M. Solomon Scholarship has supported hundreds of students since its establishment in 1979. In all, the Manaster-Solomon Scholarship has awarded nearly $4 million to Brandeis students. It is the University’s largest and longest-running current-use scholarship fund (view a brief video featuring Brandeis students and highlighting the power of scholarships).

“Julia and Sarah would be absolutely delighted to know that they have helped so many worthy students through the years,” said L. Roy Papp, a friend of the sisters who worked with attorney John Morris to establish the Sarah M. Solomon Trust, which distributes the funds for the Manaster-Solomon Scholarship. “They did not have children of their own, but cared deeply about young people. They wanted to do some good with their assets.”

Solomon’s late husband, a physician, passed away a few years after they were married in the 1920s. She died in 1975, four years before Manaster, a school teacher.

Although the sisters did not specify which institutions they wanted to support after their deaths, Papp knew of their fondness for Brandeis and was aware that they had made gifts to the then-fledgling institution in its early years.

“They had deep affection for Brandeis and appreciated the important role it played in the American Jewish community,” said Papp, the founder and president of an investment management firm based in Phoenix. “I do know they were very pleased when the school was established. They wanted to do something to help.”

The Solomon Trust also supports students at three Chicago area universities – the University of Chicago, Rush University Medical Center, and Roosevelt University. Papp and his daughter, Victoria Papp Cavallero, administer the trust.

Brandeis students are chosen as Manaster-Solomon Scholars based on their academic achievement, character, and financial need. Because the scholarship is funded through current-use rather than endowed gifts, it has not been affected by the decline in worldwide markets.

“We are grateful for the Julia Manaster and Sarah M. Solomon Scholarship, which has been an important source of support for Brandeis students for 30 years,” said President Jehuda Reinharz, PhD ’72. “This scholarship helps Brandeis attract the very best students  without regard to their financial situation.”

For students from both near and far, the Manaster-Solomon Scholarship has provided them the opportunity to attend Brandeis.

Brian Dahlben ’12 would not be at the University were it not for the scholarship. The resident of Newton, Massachusetts, plans to major in both psychology and economics. Outside the classroom, he serves as captain of the University’s ultimate Frisbee team.

“Without your support, Brandeis might not have been a possibility for me, so I’d really like to express my gratitude,” Dahlben wrote to Papp and Cavallero this year. “I intend to enjoy my college experience to the fullest extent by satisfying my academic interests and thriving socially and athletically.”

Fellow freshman Hannah Zeltzer ’12, who hails from Camarillo, California, has also been the beneficiary of the Manaster-Solomon Scholarship. A pre-med student, she works at the Lemberg Children’s Center and is a member of the Adagio Dance Company and ballet club at Brandeis.

“It is truly an honor to receive the Manaster-Solomon Scholarship,” she wrote. “If not for this scholarship, I would not have been able to attend Brandeis University.”